An eBay wedding dress and homegrown flowers: Here’s how one thrifty bride saved over £5,000 on wedding costs 

One thrifty bride has revealed five ways that helped her to save £5,436 on her wedding day this summer, to help those looking to cut back on costs.  
 
Typically, weddings come with a hefty price tag. According to Bridebook’s 2022 report, the average cost of a wedding in the UK is a whopping £16,529 – and that’s not considering the potential cost of inflation which will impact those starting to plan their wedding now (Source: Bridebook).  

Some wedding costs are unavoidable, but there are certainly ways that budding brides and grooms can reduce the amount they spend; after all, your wedding day will be special no matter what!   

To help anyone planning their upcoming nuptials, who want to save some cash amidst the cost of living crisis, CashLady.com has partnered with newlywed Joanne Dewberry to release her top tips.  

Joanne (@joannedewberryuk) got married in July 2022. She is a Small Business Author and Blogger living in Wimborne, Dorset. She estimates that her wedding cost around £3,000 – that’s just 18% of the cost of the average UK wedding!  She has provided five tried and tested tips explaining how she saved on certain areas of her wedding to save £5,436. Joanne commented:  
 
“This July I married the love of my life on our 21st anniversary, alongside a very select number of friends and family including our three children. I am a huge believer that your wedding day isn’t about flashy venues and expensive outfits; it’s more important that you’re surrounded by loved ones to celebrate one of the most special days of your life.”  
 
“We had the wedding of our dreams roughly spending £3,000, through careful planning, homemade accessories and the kindness of friends.”  

1. Wedding Dress     

“The dress is usually one of the biggest expenses of a wedding, which is pretty crazy considering you will probably never wear it again! I knew I didn’t want to spend a lot on my dress, and ideally was aiming for around £100. I wanted something simple, vintage and lace, and was more than happy to buy second-hand. I scoured eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace until I found my dream wedding dress, which was actually brand new with tags for just £50!”   
 
Dress cost: £50  

Average UK wedding dress cost: £1,250 (Source: Bridebook)   

Estimated saving: £1,200   

2. Flowers   

“Flowers are also a big expense at a wedding which I was keen to cut down on. I really wanted a country cottage arrangement of flowers in blue and white, quite wild and organic with three sunflowers to represent my three children. Having a clear idea of the flowers that I wanted for my wedding made it much easier to create my own version in a low-cost fashion.”  
 
“I was really lucky that a wonderful friend offered to do my flowers for me, and she actually grew most of them in her garden. She even came to my mother in law’s house to take cuttings from our olive tree (as our youngest child is called Olive) as well as some beautiful blue hydrangeas, which made the flowers even more personal.”  “We also had simple bud vases on each table during the meal with a variety of blooms in.  
 
At the end of the evening, we encouraged friends and family to take flowers home with them as I didn’t want anything going to waste.”   
 
Flowers cost: £1 (I brought the blue ribbon used)   

Average UK wedding florist cost: £786 (Source: Bridebook)   

Estimated saving: £785 

3. Confetti   

“Our chosen venue only allowed natural confetti, so we decided quite early on to use real flowers. Ahead of time, around January 2022, we asked friends and family to save any flowers that they had for us so we could dry them out in large BBQ trays at home and use them for confetti.” 

“We received lots of flowers throughout the year, particularly loads of red roses in February and lots of daffodils in Spring. I loved the variety in colours that we got from the different types of flowers, and it also meant that the confetti cost basically nothing – just a bit of elbow grease and preparation!”   

Confetti cost: £6 (personalised stickers and confetti bags)  

Estimated confetti cost for UK average number of guests: £81 (Source: Shropshire Petals Confetti Calculator & Bridebook)  

Estimated saving: £75   

4. Welcome Drinks 

“Instead of paying for welcome drinks at our venue, we brought our own drinks including champagne, fizzy water, wine and non-alcoholic cava for the children. We provided plastic flutes which we put in a basket and whilst in the gardens after the ceremony, my new husband’s Auntie offered to pour everyone a drink.” 

“Not only was this most welcomed as it was a really hot day, but the setting was gorgeous and drinking champagne with my new husband and our loved ones is now one of my most treasured memories.”  

Welcome drinks cost: £8 (we had 2 bottles of personalised Champagne from Say It With Champers as a review) 

Average UK catering cost (drinks and food): £4,084 (Source: Bridebook)   

Estimated saving: see below    

5. Feeding your guests    

“Feeding people is one of the largest costs of a wedding. We decided to opt for a 3pm wedding, knowing we would only need to feed our guests dinner. We opted for three courses, where each course had three options so we had a rough idea of the total cost, plus six bottles of wine. We only invited a very small number to the ceremony and wedding breakfast and we were very strict to keep the number small; it can be easy to get carried away.”  

“If you get married earlier in the day you may need to provide your guests with snacks, lunch and dinner so it’s worth considering all these extra costs.” 

“Remember it’s your wedding. Ask yourself: do you really want to invite people you haven’t seen in years or don’t speak to just because your mum says you have to? We also didn’t invite our friends’ partners, although we did offer an open invitation for people who wanted to come to have a drink with us in the evening.”  

 
Food cost: £700  

Average UK catering cost (drinks and food): £4,084 (Source: Bridebook)  

Estimated saving (food and drink): £3,376  

Commenting on the tips, CashLady.com’s Personal Finance Expert, Dan Whittaker, said:    

“Weddings are notoriously expensive, and it seems they are only getting more and more costly as the years go by. We love Joanne’s tried and tested tips on how she saved a whopping £5,436 on her wedding day, which we hope will inspire those currently wedding planning to cut back and save where they can.” 

“Not only will these tips save you a pretty penny on your big day, but they also encourage you to get creative with some DIY. Having a home-grown bouquet and flowers that your guests can take home, for example, will add that little extra touch of personability to your wedding. Not to mention, the reduction of waste that these tips encourage which are much more eco-friendly than those down the traditional route.”  

The savings tips have been created in partnership with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorised and regulated credit broker CashLady.com, an unsecured loan broker that allows customers to browse credit options from over 40 lenders to get the best APR.